Pumpkin or Apple Pie?

Click here for more details!

People are SCARED to make pastry. I grew up in a house where pies were a staple of Sunday dinner and making pastry to my mom was a nothingburger. And I get that that kind of modeling goes a long way to dispel fears. 

So I am going to take that one step further and break down the fundamentals of making pastry.

7 Tips to Great Pastry

1. Weigh. Pastry is equal parts fat and grain. The best way to make sure these are equal weight is to use a scale. You don’t need a fancy digital scale, in fact, I see them all the time at Value Village.  It’s not necessary, it’s just more accurate.
2. Fat. Your fat can be lard, butter, vegan butter or shortening, or a combination of these. I often use unsalted butter or unsalted butter and lard, because that’s my preference and it gives me the taste and texture I prefer.
3. Grain. I use All Purpose flour for almost everything. You could certainly substitute whole wheat, spelt and gluten free options. The density and moisture in the grain will have an impact. It’s best to master your dough with one grain so you have a feel for how your dough should feel. Then experiement from there. 
4. Vinegar (just a teaspoon) is essential. In inhibits gluten (which makes dough stretchy) and helps create a flaky  crust. Choose cider vinegar or white vinegar. 
5. Temperature: your fat has to be COLD. Straight from the freezer is ideal, but straight from the fridge works too. 
6. Water. it needs to be ice cold and used sparingly!
7. Handling. Keep your contact to a minimum. The more you work the dough, the more you melt your fat and you elimate air pockets and layers, which reduces flakiness.

Love that golden crust? Beat an egg and thin it with a biit of milk or water and brush on top of your pastry. You can even sprinkle some chunky sugar on top. Mmmm. Mmmm.

This recipe (follows video) will make a 9″ double pie crust.
 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lisa

Making pastry is neither hard nor mysterious. It’s actually easy as PIE. Make some this weekend. I dare you.

  1.  Weigh. Pastry is equal parts fat and grain. The best way to make sure these are equal weight is to use a scale. You don’t need a fancy digital scale, in fact, I see them all the time at Value Village.  It’s not necessary, it’s just more accurate.
  2. Fat. Your fat can be lard, butter, vegan butter or shortening, or a combination of these. I often use unsalted butter or unsalted butter and lard, because that’s my preference and it gives me the taste and texture I prefer.
  3. Grain. I use All Purpose flour for almost everything. You could certainly substitute whole wheat, spelt and gluten free options. The density and moisture in the grain will have an impact. It’s best to master your dough with one grain so you have a feel for how your dough should feel. Then experiement from there. 
  4. Vinegar (just a teaspoon) is essential. In inhibits gluten (which makes dough stretchy) and helps create a flaky  crust. Choose cider vinegar or white vinegar. 
  5. Temperature: your fat has to be COLD. Straight from the freezer is ideal, but straight from the fridge works too.
  6.  Water. it needs to be ice cold and used sparingly! You are addding by the dropfuls.  
  7. Handling. Keep your contact to a minimum. The more you work the dough, the more you melt your fat and you elimate air pockets and layers, which reduces flakiness.

Pumpkin or Apple Pie?

Course Dessert, Main Dish

Ingredients
  

  • 150 grams unsalted butter frozen or from the fridge about one cup
  • 150 grams lard frozen or from the fridge about one cup
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of vinegar cider or white
  • 1 tablespoon of high fat Greek yogurt or sour cream
  • ice cold water
  • Extra flour to roll out.
  • Tools:
  • large bowl
  • grater
  • rolling pin/wine bottle
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!